#[ooc] or is sam still leaping and al can't do anything really to help him

[quantumleapt]

@observingly dreams: who did this to you?

“  who  did  this  to  you  ?  ”   always accepting.

"Al."

It's barely a breath, but the soft murmur relaxes too tight shoulders, whole body sagging into the floor. A smile, somewhere between dazed and beatific, appears on too pale features, and hazel eyes fall shut with a sigh. He can almost feel a hand running through his hair, matted with blood, fingers so familiar skimming over the head wound before moving to... what, hold him in his lap, just like they used to on so many summer's days, so many lifetimes ago? Anything's possible now that his eyes are closed. He's here. That's all that matters.

"Berto..." Sam ventures, curling up tighter as if he's half-awake and dreaming. "...You found me." It's a reverent, awe-filled phrase, a notion that, even after all this time, he still isn't quite able to grasp. No matter what, Al will be there, Al will find him, Al will bring him home.

It's one of the few fundamental truths he still has.

But there's panic, anger in his tone-- from the sounds of it, Al's about halfway to the admiral voice-- and the reality of the situation starts to slither over his skin, seeping into his subconscious and the pit of his stomach.

"...I don't know," he answers honestly. "Can't... remember. I..." With effort, he opens his eyes to half-mast. Blinking a few times, he sees only darkness. "...where are we, Al?..."